JP2012098790A - Printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing system capable of improving a degree of freedom of correction while maintaining security.SOLUTION: A printing system 1 for performing printout on the basis of submitted data DN that has been encoded includes a printer 50 with a decoding unit for decoding the submitted data DN provided therein, and an editor 70 for performing editing processing relating to the submitted data DN. The editor 70 transmits, to the printer 50, an execution instruction indicating that the decoding unit needs to be used for generation processing of an image to be edited relating to a predetermined editing operation. In response to the execution instruction, the printer 50 performs the processing on an image obtained by decoding the submitted data DN with the decoding unit, generates a non-equivalent decoded image, which is a decoded image not equivalent to a printed matter relating to the submitted data DN, as the image to be edited, and transmits the non-equivalent decoded image to the editor 70. The editor 70 displays the non-equivalent decoded image as the image to be edited.

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing system.

  There is a system that transmits (submits) data (electronic document) of printed matter from an orderer side device to a device in the printing company (order receiving side device) via a network (for example, see Patent Document 1). .

  In addition, in such a system, there is a system capable of decrypting submitted data only in a decryption unit built in a printing apparatus in a printing company in order to improve security. In this system, since only the printing apparatus can decrypt the submitted data in the printing company, it is possible to ensure high security.

JP 2006-11916 A

  However, in such a system, the printing company side (order receiver side) cannot make corrections. For this reason, it is necessary to perform a correction operation on the uploader side (orderer side) even for minor corrections, and transmit the corrected data from the uploader side to the printing company side again. Thus, the system has a problem that the degree of freedom of correction is small.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a printing system capable of improving the degree of freedom of correction while ensuring security.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention of claim 1 is a printing system for performing print output based on encrypted input data, and a printing apparatus having a built-in decryption unit for decrypting the input data; An editing device that accepts an editing operation related to the submitted data, and the editing device sends an execution instruction to the printing device to execute an editing image generation process related to the editing operation, In response to the execution command, the printing apparatus performs processing on an image obtained by decoding the submitted data using the decoding unit, and is a decoded image that is not equivalent to a printed matter related to the submitted data. A non-equivalent decoded image is generated as the editing image, the non-equivalent decoded image is transmitted to the editing device, and the editing device displays the non-equivalent decoded image as the editing image. And wherein the Rukoto.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to the first aspect of the invention, the editing device accepts an editing instruction related to the input data using the non-equivalent decoded image, and edits content based on the editing instruction. The editing content data shown is stored in association with the submitted data.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to the second aspect of the invention, the printing apparatus performs an editing process based on the editing content data for an image obtained by decoding the submitted data using the decoding unit. To create a print output image after the editing process, and print out the print output image.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to any one of the first to third aspects, the non-equivalent decoded image is a decoded image according to a part of the entire image related to the printed matter. It is characterized by being.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to any one of the first to third aspects, the non-equivalent decoded image has a resolution lower than the resolution of the original image in the input data. It is a digitized image.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the printing system according to the fifth aspect of the invention, the non-equivalent decoded image is a thumbnail image of the original image.

  According to the first to sixth aspects of the present invention, the printing apparatus uses a decoding unit that decodes the submitted data to generate a decoded image that is not equivalent to the printed matter related to the submitted data. Is generated as the editing image, and the non-equivalent decoded image is transmitted to the editing apparatus. Then, the editing apparatus displays the non-equivalent decoded image as an editing image. Therefore, an editing operation by the editing apparatus is allowed while maintaining a state in which only the decryption unit of the printing apparatus can decrypt the submitted data. Therefore, it is possible to improve the degree of freedom of correction while ensuring security.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure, such as an editing apparatus. It is a figure which shows a menu screen. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an editing operation related to “page replacement”. It is a figure which shows the display screen of the image for an edit. It is a figure which shows the display screen of the image for a confirmation. It is a figure which shows the edit operation | movement regarding "trash removal." It is a figure which shows the display screen of the image for an edit. It is a figure which shows the display screen of the image for an edit. It is a figure which shows the display screen of the image for a confirmation. It is a figure which shows the display screen of the image for an edit. It is a figure which shows printing operation.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<1. System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the printing system 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system 1 includes a submitter-side terminal 10, a submitted data store (submitted data storage device) 30, a printing device 50, and an editing device 70. The submitter side terminal 10 is arranged in the orderer side company, and the submitted data store 30, the printing apparatus 50, and the editing apparatus 70 are arranged in the contractor side company (printing company or the like).

  The printing system 1 is a system that performs print output based on the submitted data DN. Specifically, a data file (also referred to as submitted data) DN encrypted using the submitter side terminal 10 is transferred from the submitter side terminal 10 to the submitted data store 30 via a network or the like. The Since the submitted data DN is encrypted, it is possible to transmit the submitted data from the submitter side terminal 10 to the submitted data store 30 while ensuring a confidential state. In order to ensure the secrecy of data more reliably, it is more preferable to use a predetermined encryption path or the like as a transmission path in addition to encrypting the received data itself and concealing it.

  Thereafter, the submitted data DN is decrypted (decrypted) using a decryption unit 63 (see FIG. 2) built in the printing apparatus 50 and printed out by the printing apparatus 50. As a result, a printed output related to the submitted data DN is generated.

  Further, in the printing system 1, it is possible to perform editing processing on the submitted data DN using the editing device 70 or the like prior to print output. However, in the printing system 1, the decryption process related to the submitted data DN is performed by a plurality of devices (specifically, the submitted data store 30 and the printing device 50) arranged in the contractor side company (printing company or the like). And the editing device 70), only the printing device 50 (specifically, the decoding unit 63). The editing device 70 does not have a decryption unit, and the decryption processing regarding the submitted data DN is not performed by the editing device 70. Then, the editing image displayed on the editing screen during the editing process is generated with a decoding process using the decoding unit 63 in the printing apparatus 50. Such editing processing will be described in detail later.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the submitted data store 30, the printing device 50, and the editing device 70.

  The editing device 70 is a device that receives an editing operation related to the submitted data DN. The editing apparatus 70 includes a communication unit 74, a storage unit 75, an input unit 76, a display unit 77, an instruction input unit 81, a display control unit 82, an edit job control unit 83, a print job control unit 84, and the like. Various functions are realized by operating each part in a complex manner.

  The communication unit 74 is a processing unit that performs network communication. In this network communication, various protocols such as TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) and FTP (File Transfer Protocol) are used. By using the network communication, the editing device 70 can exchange various data with the printing device 50 and with the submitted data store 30. Note that the network connecting the editing device 70, the printing device 50, and the submitted data store 30 is an in-house network (inside the contractor's company) in which communication with the outside is restricted in order to ensure confidentiality more reliably. A dedicated network).

  The storage unit 75 includes a storage device such as a semiconductor memory and a hard disk drive (HDD). The storage unit 75 temporarily stores the submitted data DN transmitted from the submitted data store 30.

  The input unit 76 includes an operation input device (such as a keyboard and a mouse) that receives an operation input to the editing apparatus 70.

  The display unit 77 includes a display output device (such as a liquid crystal display) that performs display output of various types of information.

  The editing device 70 is configured as a general personal computer or the like. Specifically, the editing device 70 is configured as a computer system including a CPU and various semiconductor memories (such as RAM and ROM). The submitter side terminal 10 is similarly configured as a general personal computer or the like.

  The editing device 70 executes a predetermined software program (hereinafter also simply referred to as a program) PG1 using a CPU or the like, thereby causing an instruction input unit 81, a display control unit 82, an edit job control unit 83, and a print job control unit. 84 is realized.

  The instruction input unit 81 is a processing unit that receives various instructions (editing instruction, printing instruction, etc.) from the operator PB of the editing apparatus 70, and the display control unit 82 performs an operation of displaying various information on the display unit 77. A processing unit to be controlled.

  The editing job control unit 83 is a processing unit that controls an operation according to an editing instruction from the operator PB of the editing apparatus 70. The editing job control unit 83 controls the operation in cooperation with the instruction input unit 81, the display control unit 82, the communication unit 74, the storage unit 75, the input unit 76, the display unit 77, and the like.

  The print job control unit 84 is a processing unit that controls an operation according to a print instruction from the operator PB of the editing apparatus 70. The print job control unit 84 controls the operation in cooperation with the instruction input unit 81, the display control unit 82, the communication unit 74, the storage unit 75, the input unit 76, the display unit 77, and the like.

  The submitted data store (submitted data storage device) 30 includes a data storage unit 31 configured by a large-capacity storage medium such as a hard disk, and a communication unit 34. The data storage unit 31 stores the submitted data (encrypted data) from the submitter-side terminal 10 in an encrypted state (a secret state).

  Furthermore, the printing apparatus 50 includes a print output unit 51, a communication unit 54, and an output control unit 61 according to various methods, and can generate (output) a print output.

  The output control unit 61 includes a decryption unit 63 that decrypts the encrypted submitted data DN. The output control unit 61 decrypts the encrypted input data DN by the decryption unit 63 to generate print output data. The print output unit 51 converts the input data DN into the input data DN based on the print output data. Such a printed output is generated.

  Further, the output control unit 61 performs processing on an image obtained by decoding the submitted data DN using the decoding unit 63 based on various commands from the editing device 70, and performs “non-equivalent decoded image” ( The process etc. which produce | generate (after-mentioned) are also performed.

<2. Operation>
<2-1. Overview of operation>
Next, the operation in the printing system 1 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, first, the submitter-side terminal 10 encrypts data (such as an electronic document) related to a printed matter in accordance with an operation input of the submitter PA, and encrypts the data (encryption). Data). Then, the encrypted data is transmitted as submission data DN from the submitter side terminal 10 to the submission data store 30. Thereafter, in the printing system 1, an editing operation or the like on the submitted data DN can be performed using the editing apparatus 70 (without using the submitter side terminal 10).

  Hereinafter, such editing operations and the like will be described in detail.

  In the editing apparatus 70, the above-described program PG1 is executed, and a menu screen MN (see FIG. 3) regarding the program PG1 is displayed.

  The menu screen MN has various menu items (large items and small items). Specifically, the menu screen MN includes large items such as “file”, “edit”, and “print”, and further includes small items (sub items) as sub-items of each large item. For example, the “Edit” menu has small items such as “Page replacement”, “Tilt correction”, “Upside down”, “Dust removal”, “Eraser”, “Bold line”, “Typographical correction”. Yes.

  Appropriate menu items (large items and small items) are selected from these menu items by a mouse operation by the operator PB. Then, the editing device 70 or the like executes processing corresponding to the selected menu item. For example, when “page replacement” in “editing” is selected, processing related to page replacement processing (editing processing) in a printed material is performed. Alternatively, when “trash removal” of “editing” is selected, processing related to “dust removal” processing (editing processing) for printed matter is performed. The same applies to other processes related to “edit”, and an edit process corresponding to the selected item is executed. When the menu item “print” is selected, a printed matter related to the submitted data DN after editing (for example, after “page replacement” processing) is printed out.

  In the following, an editing operation and the like related to “page replacement” will be described first.

<2-2. Editing operations related to "Page replacement">
Here, the operator PB of the editing apparatus 70 gives a correction instruction from the submitter PA by telephone or e-mail contact, specifically, “3rd page should be moved to the 1st page”. Assume a situation where a correction instruction is received.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the subsequent operation in such a situation.

  First, the operator PB of the editing apparatus 70 selects “page replacement” of “edit” from among a plurality of menu items on the menu screen MN (FIG. 3) and gives an execution instruction RA1 for the item. In response to this selection operation, the editing device 70 transmits the submitted data (encrypted data) DN and the execution command data DA (DA1) corresponding to the execution instruction RA1 to the printing device 50 (step S11). . Specifically, the editing device 70 transfers the submission data DN from the submission data store 30 to the printing device 50, and also transmits the execution command data DA1 to the printing device 50 (step S11). Execution command data (also simply referred to as an execution command) DA1 is command data indicating that the generation process of the editing image GE1 related to the editing operation (“page replacement” operation) should be executed using the decoding unit 63. That is, the execution command DA1 is a command for generating the editing image GE1. The submitted data DN may be transmitted directly from the submitted data store 30 to the printing device 50 in response to a transmission command from the editing device 70, or once via the editing device 70 to the printing device 50. May be sent. Similarly, the execution command DA1 may be transmitted directly from the editing apparatus 70 to the printing apparatus 50, or may be transmitted from the editing apparatus 70 to the printing apparatus 50 once via the submission data store 30.

  In response to the execution command DA1, the printing apparatus 50 generates display data DS1 for the editing image GE1 based on the execution command DA1 and the submitted data DN (step S12).

  Specifically, the printing apparatus 50 first decrypts part or all (here, all) of the submitted data (encrypted data) DN using the decrypting unit 63. Then, the output control unit 61 of the printing apparatus 50 uses the “non-equivalent decoded image” that is a decoded image that is not equivalent to the printed matter regarding the submitted data DN as the display data DS1 of the editing image GE1 (described below). Generate data for

  More specifically, the output control unit 61 performs resolution conversion processing (resolution reduction processing) on the once decoded image data, thereby generating image data DS1 with reduced resolution. The image data DS1 is image data having a lower resolution than the original image data DS0 related to the printed material. The image related to the image data DS1 corresponds to an image decoded as a low resolution image, in other words, an image in which at least a part of information about the original image is substantially lost, and the original image related to the image data DS0. Is not equivalent, and is also referred to as “non-equivalent decoded image”. In addition, the “resolution reduction process” is a process for changing the processing target image to an image that is not equivalent to an image related to the image data DS0 (non-equivalent image), and thus is also expressed as a “non-equivalence process”. . It should be noted that the “non-equivalent decoded image” is also expressed as an image that is not in a completely decoded state of the original printed matter (decoded image in a non-completely decoded state), in short, “incompletely decoded image”. Is done.

For example, when the submission data DN has a plurality of (three) pages (see FIG. 1), the output control unit 61 once decrypts the submission data DN using the decoding unit 63 for each page. Image data DS0 (for example, image data having a pixel number equivalent to 300 dpi) is generated. Further, the output control unit 61 performs a resolution reduction process (for example, a process of reducing the resolution to about one-tenth to a few tenths) for the image data DS0 of each page, and performs “non-equivalent decoding”. Image data DS1 (for example, image data having a number of pixels corresponding to 10 dpi) is generated. In short, each thumbnail image data DS1 for each original image data DS0 is generated.

  As described above, the printing apparatus 50 performs a non-equivalence process on the image (image data DS0) obtained by decoding the submitted data DN using the decoding unit 63, and is not equivalent to the printed matter related to the submitted data DN. A non-equivalent decoded image that is a decoded image is generated as an editing image GE1.

  Then, the printing apparatus 50 transmits the non-equivalent decoded image to the editing apparatus 70 as the editing image GE1. Specifically, using the communication unit 54 or the like, the printing apparatus 50 transmits three image data DS1 related to three pages to the editing apparatus 70 as display data for the editing image GE1 (step S12). ).

  Upon receiving the display data DS1, the editing device 70 displays the editing image GE1 on the display unit 77 of the editing device 70 based on the display data DS1 (step S13). In other words, the editing device 70 displays the “non-equivalent decoded image” based on the display data DS1 as the editing image GE1. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, three page images (thumbnail images) GE1 based on the display data DS1 are sequentially arranged from the left to the right according to the page order and displayed on the display unit 77. Since the image data DS1 of each page has a resolution lower than the resolution of the original image data DS0, the display image GE1 of each image data DS1 is visually perceived in a blurred manner.

  Next, in step S14, the operator PB of the editing apparatus 70 inputs an editing instruction RE1 related to the submitted data DN using such a non-equivalent decoded image (editing image) GE1. For example, “move the third page in the submitted data DN immediately before the first page” or the like by moving the thumbnail image of the third page to the left side of the thumbnail image of the first page (drag and drop operation) or the like. An editing instruction RE1 to that effect is input.

  Upon receiving the editing instruction RE1, the editing device 70 generates editing content data DE (DE1) indicating editing contents based on the editing instruction RE1. The editing instruction RE1 is converted into a script or the like indicating the content of the editing instruction (editing content) and is described in the editing content data DE1. Then, the editing device 70 transmits the editing content data DE1 to the printing device 50 (step S14). As a result, the edited content data DE1 having the script related to the edited content is transmitted to the printing apparatus 50. Further, the editing apparatus 70 causes the submitted data (encrypted data) DN to be transferred from the submitted data store 30 to the printing apparatus 50 again.

  In step S15, the printing apparatus 50 actually executes the editing process to generate an image (edited image) GE2 after the editing process. Specifically, the printing apparatus 50 generates “non-equivalent decoded image” data that is a decoded image that is not equivalent to the printed matter related to the submitted data DN, as the display data DS2 of the edited image GE2. The edited image GE2 is also expressed as an image for confirming the editing content (confirmation image). Further, the edited image GE2 is also an image for editing because it is an image for checking work among editing work.

  More specifically, the output control unit 61 of the printing apparatus 50 first uses the decryption unit 63 to decrypt part or all (here, all) of the submitted data (encrypted data) DN again. Further, the output control unit 61 executes an editing process on the decrypted image of the submitted data DN based on the script described in the editing content data DE1. Specifically, an editing process of “moving the (original) third page to immediately before the first page” is executed. Furthermore, the output control unit 61 performs resolution reduction processing on the image data DS0 (decoded image) of each page after the editing process, and generates image data DS2 that is “non-equivalent decoded image”. To do. Thereby, each thumbnail image data DS2 (thumbnail image data after the page order is changed) for each original image data DS0 is generated.

  Thereafter, the printing apparatus 50 transmits the three image data DS2 relating to the three pages to the editing apparatus 70 as display data for the edited image GE2 using the communication unit 54 or the like.

  When receiving the display data DS2, the editing device 70 displays the edited image GE2 on the display unit 77 of the editing device 70 based on the display data DS2 (step S16). In other words, the editing device 70 displays the “non-equivalent decoded image” based on the display data DS2 as the edited image GE2. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, three page images based on the display data DS2 are sequentially arranged from the left to the right according to the page order and displayed on the display unit 77. Since the image data DS2 of each page has a resolution lower than the resolution of the original image data DS0, the display image of each image data DS2 is visually recognized.

  The operator PB visually recognizes the updated screen on the display unit 77 and confirms the result of the editing process (step S17). For example, the operator PB confirms that the page order has been changed as instructed based on the display screen of FIG. 6, and presses the OK button BN1. In response to pressing of the OK button BN1, the editing device 70 stores the edited content data DE1 in the submitted data store 30 in association with the submitted data DN. Thereby, the editing process ends. When the operator PB determines that a change different from his / her intention has been made, the operator PB can cancel the editing process by pressing the cancel button BN2. When the cancel operation is performed, the edited content data DE1 is deleted and the edited content is not saved.

  According to the operation as described above, the printing apparatus 50 generates the non-equivalent decoded image GE1 (, GE2) as an editing image based on the image obtained by decoding the submitted data DN using the decoding unit 63. . Then, the editing device 70 displays the non-equivalent decoded image GE1 (, GE2) as an editing image. Therefore, the editing operation by the editing device 70 is allowed while maintaining a state in which only the decryption unit 63 of the printing device 50 can perform the decryption process of the submitted data DN. Therefore, it is possible to improve the degree of freedom of correction while ensuring security.

  In particular, in the editing apparatus 70, a non-equivalent decoded image GE1 (, GE2) (which is a decoded image that is not equivalent to the original printed matter) is displayed as an editing image, and an image equivalent to the original printed matter is displayed. Not. Therefore, there is a risk that information equivalent to the original printed material flows out from the editing device 70 as compared with a case where image display in the editing device 70 is allowed without limitation (when an image equivalent to the original printed material is displayed). It can be avoided or suppressed.

  More specifically, at the time of editing by the editing device 70, a thumbnail image (low resolution image) relating to the submitted data DN is displayed as an image for editing, and a high-definition image equivalent to the printed matter related to the submitted data DN is displayed. Not. Therefore, it is possible to avoid or suppress the risk of secret information leaking from the display content of the display unit 77 during editing. More specifically, an operator who has viewed the display unit 77 of the editing apparatus 70, a person who has stole the display unit 77 of the editing apparatus 70, or a person who has voyeured the display unit 77 of the editing apparatus 70 has information on the submitted data DN. Can avoid or suppress the risk of obtaining the product as it is.

  Even when “Tilt correction” or “Upside down” is selected in the “Edit” menu, the same operation as described above is executed, and the same effect can be obtained.

<2-3. Editing operations related to “Trash Removal”>
Next, an editing operation related to “trash removal” will be described.

  Here, the operator PB of the editing apparatus 70 gives a correction instruction from the submitter PA by telephone or e-mail contact, for example, “Dust near the center of the first page in the vertical direction and 5 cm from the left. Suppose a situation in which a correction instruction is issued saying that should be excluded.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an editing operation in such a situation.

  First, the operator PB selects “trash removal” of “edit” from a plurality of menu items on the menu screen MN (FIG. 3), and gives an execution instruction RA11 for the item. In response to this selection operation, the editing device 70 transmits the submitted data DN and the execution command data DA11 corresponding to the execution instruction RA11 to the printing device 50 (step S21). Specifically, the submission data (encrypted data) DN is transferred from the submission data store 30 to the printing apparatus 50, and the execution command data DA11 is transmitted to the printing apparatus 50 (step S21). The execution command data (also simply referred to as an execution command) DA11 is command data indicating that the generation process of the editing image GE11 related to the editing operation (“trash removal” operation) should be executed using the decoding unit 63. That is, the execution command DA11 is also a generation processing command for the editing image GE11.

  On the other hand, the printing apparatus 50 generates display data DS11 for the editing image GE11 based on the execution command DA11 and the submitted data DN (step S22). Here, it is assumed that the same data as the display data DS1 is generated as the display data DS11.

  Thereafter, the printing apparatus 50 transmits the display data DS11 of the editing image GE11 to the editing apparatus 70 using the communication unit 54 or the like (step S22).

  Upon receiving the display data DS11, the editing device 70 displays the editing image GE11 on the display unit 77 of the editing device 70 based on the display data DS11 (Step S13). For example, as shown in FIG. 8, three page images (thumbnail images) GE11 based on the display data DS11 are sequentially arranged from the left to the right according to the page order and displayed on the display unit 77. Since the image data DS11 of each page has a resolution lower than the resolution of the original image data DS0, the display image GE11 of each image data DS11 is visually recognized.

  In addition, the operator PB gives an enlargement range designation instruction RA12 using the display image GE11 in generating a magnified image for dust removal position designation. Specifically, the operator PB moves the rectangular area RL (see FIG. 8) for designating the enlargement range to a desired position by operating the mouse or the like, and presses the enlargement button BN11. The rectangular region RL preferably has an area of a very small ratio (for example, several to 10%) or less with respect to the entire image. Here, the rectangular area RL is assumed to have a fixed predetermined proportion of size, but the size is not limited to this, and the size may be changed. However, the maximum size of the rectangular region RL is preferably set to a relatively small value (for example, about several to 10% of the entire area) with respect to the entire area.

  In response to such an execution instruction RA12, the editing apparatus 70 transfers the input data (encrypted data) DN from the input data store 30 to the printing apparatus 50, and also executes the execution instruction data DA12 corresponding to the execution instruction RA12. Is transmitted to the printing apparatus 50 (step S24). Execution command data (also simply referred to as an execution command) DA12 is command data including that a magnified range in the entire image should be designated and a partially enlarged image for dust position designation should be created.

  On the other hand, the printing apparatus 50 generates display data DS12 for the editing image GE12 based on the execution command DA12 and the submitted data DN (step S25).

  Specifically, the printing apparatus 50 first decrypts part or all of the submitted data (encrypted data) DN (partly here, more specifically, only the first page) using the decrypting unit 63. To do.

  Then, the output control unit 61 of the printing apparatus 50 generates “non-equivalent decoded image” data, which is a decoded image that is not equivalent to the printed matter related to the submitted data DN, as the display data DS12 of the editing image GE12. To do. More specifically, the output control unit 61 performs a partial extraction process (partial extraction process) for extracting a part of the once decoded image data, thereby decoding only a part of the entire image related to the printed matter. The image data DS12 of the converted image is generated. The image related to the image data DS12 is an image obtained by decoding only a part of the entire image (page image), in other words, an image in which at least a part of information about the original image is substantially lost. This is equivalent to the original image (whole image) related to the image data DS0 and is therefore also expressed as “non-equivalent decoded image”. The image data DS12 is also expressed as “partially decoded image”. Further, the “partial extraction process” is a process for changing the processing target image to an image that is not equivalent to the image related to the image data DS0 (non-equivalent image), and thus is also expressed as a “non-equivalence process”. .

  For example, the output control unit 61 uses the decoding unit 63 to generate image data DS0 (for example, image data having a pixel number equivalent to 300 dpi) obtained by decoding the image of the first page of the submitted data DN. Further, the output control unit 61 extracts image data DS12 (here, equivalent to the resolution of the original printed matter) from which only a part of the image data DS0 of the decoded image of the first page (the part corresponding to the rectangular area RL) is extracted. Image data having the number of pixels corresponding to the resolution (300 dpi). However, as described above, the image GE12 related to the image data DS12 corresponds to an image obtained by decoding only a part of the entire image (for example, a range of about several percent to 10%).

  Thereafter, the printing apparatus 50 transmits the image data DS12 of the partially enlarged image to the editing apparatus 70 as display data for the editing image GE12 using the communication unit 54 or the like (step S25).

  Upon receiving the display data DS12, the editing device 70 displays the editing image (partially enlarged image) GE12 on the display unit 77 of the editing device 70 based on the display data DS12 (see FIG. 9) (see FIG. 9). Step S26). In other words, the editing device 70 displays the “non-equivalent decoded image” based on the display data DS12 as the editing image GE12. The editing image GE12 is limited to a part of the entire image of the first page, and the entire image is not displayed.

  Next, in step S27, the operator PB of the editing apparatus 70 inputs an editing instruction RE11 related to the submitted data DN using the non-equivalent decoded image (editing image) GE12. For example, the position of dust LT (dust position) in the partially enlarged image of the first page is designated using the cross cursor XL and the determination button BN12. When the cross cursor XL is moved to the dust position and the determination button BN12 is pressed, the editing apparatus 70 determines that an editing instruction RE11 for designating the coordinate position of the cross cursor XL as the dust position has been input.

  When receiving the editing instruction RE11, the editing device 70 generates editing content data DE11 indicating editing contents based on the editing instruction RE11. The editing instruction RE11 is converted into a script or the like indicating the content of the editing instruction (editing content) and is described in the editing content data DE11. The editing content data DE11 includes command information indicating that “dust removal” editing processing is performed, and detailed information thereof (page number “1” of the dust removal processing target page and the coordinate position (X, Y) and the like. Then, the editing device 70 transmits the editing content data DE11 to the printing device 50 (step S27). As a result, the edited content data DE11 having a script or the like related to the edited content is transmitted to the printing apparatus 50. Further, the editing apparatus 70 causes the submitted data (encrypted data) DN to be transferred from the submitted data store 30 to the printing apparatus 50 again.

  In step S <b> 28, the printing apparatus 50 generates “non-equivalent decoded image” data that is a decoded image that is not equivalent to the printed matter related to the submitted data DN, as the display data DS <b> 22 of the edited image GE <b> 22.

  Specifically, the output control unit 61 of the printing apparatus 50 first uses the decryption unit 63 to partially or entirely (partly here, more specifically, the first page) of the submitted data (encrypted data) DN. Only)) again. Further, the output control unit 61 performs partial extraction processing on the image data DS0 (decoded image) of the first page, and the image data DS21 that is “non-equivalent decoded image” (specifically, partially extracted image). Is generated.

  Further, the output control unit 61 executes an editing process on the image data DS21 based on the script described in the editing content data DE11. Specifically, a dust removal process of “removing dust at the coordinate position (X, Y) of the first page” is executed.

  As a result, the first page partially extracted image data DS22 (partially extracted image data after dust removal processing) is generated.

  Thereafter, the printing apparatus 50 transmits the partially extracted image data DS22 of the first page after the dust removal process to the editing apparatus 70 as display data for the edited image GE22 using the communication unit 54 or the like.

  When receiving the display data DS22, the editing device 70 displays the edited image GE22 on the display unit 77 of the editing device 70 based on the display data DS22 (step S29). For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a partial extracted image (partial image after the dust removal process) based on the display data DS22 is displayed on the display unit 77. The display data DS22 is data corresponding to a partial range of the entire image of the first page. In other words, the editing device 70 displays the “non-equivalent decoded image” based on the display data DS22 as the edited image GE22.

  Then, the operator PB visually recognizes the updated screen on the display unit 77 and confirms the result of the editing process (step S30). For example, the operator PB confirms that “dust” has been removed as instructed based on the display screen of FIG. 10, and presses the OK button BN15. In response to pressing of the OK button BN15, the editing device 70 stores the edited content data DE11 in the submitted data store 30 in association with the submitted data DN. Thereby, the editing process ends. If the operator determines that a change different from his / her intention is made, the operator can press the cancel button BN16 to cancel the editing process. When the cancel operation is performed, the edited content data DE11 is deleted, and the edited content is not saved.

  According to the operation as described above, an editing operation by the editing device 70 is allowed while maintaining a state in which only the decoding unit 63 of the printing device 50 can perform the decoding process of the submitted data DN. In particular, in the editing apparatus 70, non-equivalent decoded images GE11, GE12, and GE22 (which are non-equivalent decoded images to the original printed matter) are displayed as editing images, and images equivalent to the original printed matter are displayed. Not. Therefore, there is a risk that information equivalent to the original printed material flows out from the editing device 70 as compared with a case where image display in the editing device 70 is allowed without limitation (when an image equivalent to the original printed material is displayed). It can be avoided or suppressed.

  In particular, at the time of editing by the editing apparatus 70, a thumbnail image (low-resolution image) GE11 (FIG. 8) relating to the submitted data DN is displayed as an editing image, and a high-definition equivalent to the printed matter related to the submitted data DN. The image is not displayed. Therefore, it is possible to avoid or suppress the risk of secret information leaking from the display content of the display unit 77 during editing.

  In particular, at the time of editing by the editing device 70, the partially extracted image GE12 (FIG. 9) relating to the submitted data DN is displayed as an editing image, and the entire image equivalent to the printed matter related to the submitted data DN is not displayed. In other words, only a part of the entire image is displayed on the display unit 77, not the entire image. Therefore, it is possible to avoid or suppress the risk of secret information leaking from the display content of the display unit 77 during editing.

  Even when “Eraser” or “Bold” is selected from the “Edit” menu, the same operation as that when “Dust removal” is selected is executed, and the same effect can be obtained. .

<2-4. Editing operations related to “Typographical error correction”>
Next, editing operations and the like related to “wrong typographical correction” will be described.

  The editing operation related to “erroneous proofreading” is executed in the same manner as the editing operation related to “trash removal” described above. Below, it demonstrates centering around difference.

  In this “wrong letter proofreading”, instead of specifying “dust position”, “wrong letter position” is specified and “characters” before and after the change are specified.

  For example, in the process corresponding to step S27 (FIG. 7), using the display image as shown in FIG. 11, the position (X, Y) of the character to be changed, the character “b” before the change, and the character after the change “A” is designated by the operator PB. Specifically, the character “b” to be changed and the position of the character are specified by surrounding the rectangle with a rectangular frame line RL, and the changed character is input and specified in the character string input field BX34. . When the determination button BN32 is pressed, the indicated content is confirmed. Further, the page number “3” of the character to be changed is designated in the processing corresponding to step S23 (FIG. 7). These designation information (edit information including the page number “3” of the character to be changed, the position (X, Y) of the character to be changed, the character “b” before the change, and the character “a” after the change) It is included in the edited content data related to “Typographical error correction”.

  As for “erroneous proofreading”, in the processing corresponding to steps S25 and S26, as shown in FIG. 11, an image in which noise NZ is given to “characters” in the extraction range (enlargement target range). Is generated and displayed as a partially extracted image. Then, using the partial extracted image, an editing instruction receiving process or the like in step S27 is executed.

  According to this, in addition to obtaining the same effect as the above-described “dust removal”, the characters in the display image are encoded using the optical character recognition (OCR) technology. Can also be prevented. That is, it is possible to prevent “characters as images” from being converted into “coded characters”. Therefore, the information displayed on the display screen is hardly used secondarily, and the effect of suppressing data leakage can be further improved.

<2-5. Printing operation>
Thereafter, the submitted data DN can be decrypted using a decryption unit 63 (see FIG. 2) built in the printing apparatus 50 and printed out by the printing apparatus 50. Specifically, after the editing process as described above, the operator PB of the editing apparatus 70 causes the printing apparatus 50 to execute the printing process of the submitted data DN by selecting “Print” from the menu item. be able to. Note that the printing process may be executed immediately after the editing process described above, or may be executed after a predetermined period has elapsed since the end of the editing process.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram showing such a printing operation.

  As shown in FIG. 12, in step S61, the operator PB of the editing apparatus 70 first inputs a print instruction RP1 for the submitted data DN by selecting “Print” from the menu item. Upon receiving the print instruction RP1, the editing apparatus 70 creates print instruction data DP1 describing the print instruction RP1 as a script. Then, the editing device 70 transmits the print instruction data DP1, the editing content data DE (DE1, DE11, etc.) and the submitted data (encrypted data) DN to the printing device 50. Specifically, the editing device 70 transmits these data DP1, DE, and DN to the printing device 50 via the submitted data store 30.

  Next, when receiving the print instruction data DP1 and the like, the printing apparatus 50 generates print output data DZ (step S62).

  Specifically, the output control unit 61 of the printing apparatus 50 first uses the decryption unit 63 to decrypt all the submitted data (encrypted data) DN to generate image data DS0 of the decrypted image.

  Then, the output control unit 61 executes the editing process again on the decoded image data DS0 based on the script described in the editing content data DE, and generates the print output data DZ.

  For example, at the time of printing output after the above-described page replacement editing, the editing process (the editing process described in the editing content data DE1) is decrypted by the “moving the (original) third page immediately before the first page” The process is executed again on the image data DS0. Then, print output data DZ (DZ1) is generated based on the editing processing result. However, the print output data DZ is generated without inequality processing (resolution reduction processing and partial extraction processing). That is, the print output data DZ has the same resolution as the original resolution of the printed material and relates to an image of the entire range of the printed material. Note that the image related to the print output data DZ is an image equivalent to the image related to the submitted data DN, and is also referred to as an “equivalent decoded image”. Further, since the image related to the print output data DZ is an image obtained by completely decoding the submitted data DN, it is also referred to as a “completely decoded image”.

  Alternatively, at the time of print output after the above-described dust removal editing, the editing process of “removing the dust at the coordinate position (X, Y) in the page number“ 3 ”” (the editing process described in the editing content data DE11). Is executed again, and print output data DZ (DZ11) related to the “equivalent decoded image” reflecting the editing processing result is generated.

  Similarly, during the print output process after various other editing processes, the editing process for the decrypted image is further executed based on the script described in the editing content data DE to reflect the editing process result. Print output data DZ relating to “equivalent decoded image” is generated.

  Then, the printing apparatus 50 executes a print output operation based on the print output data DZ, and after the editing processing (after “page replacement” processing and / or “dust removal” processing) Etc.) is printed out. As a result, a printed output reflecting the editing process result is generated.

<3. Other>
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the contents described above.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the submitted data DN is sequentially transmitted (sent a plurality of times) to the printing apparatus 50 along with the transmission of the data DA and DE is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Specifically, the submitted data DN is transmitted to the printing apparatus 50 at an initial stage after receiving the editing operation (for example, when the first data DA is transmitted) and stored in the printing apparatus 50 until the end of the editing process. It may remain. That is, the submitted data DN may be transmitted only once for the first time. According to this, it is possible to reduce the number of times of transmission of the submitted data DN and to suppress a communication load (communication time, etc.) required for transmitting the submitted data DN.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the submitted data store 30 is provided separately from the printing apparatus 50 and the editing apparatus 70 is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the submission data store 30 may be built in the printing apparatus 50 or may be built in the editing apparatus 70.

  Moreover, although the case where the edit process regarding one edit item was mainly performed with respect to one input data DN in the said embodiment was illustrated, it is not limited to this. For example, editing processing regarding a plurality of editing items may be sequentially performed with respect to one submission data DN. In this case, in the editing process related to the nth editing item, the editing process related to the previous editing item (the editing items up to the (n−1) th) is performed according to the editing content data DE. It is only necessary to perform non-equivalent decoding processing in which editing processing regarding the n-th editing item is also performed. It should be noted that the editing content data DE may be configured so that scripts indicating editing content regarding a plurality of editing items are sequentially described. Further, at the time of print output, the decryption process may be performed according to the edit content data DE in which the edit content related to a plurality of edit items is described.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the editing apparatus 70 receives an editing process execution instruction and the printing apparatus 50 actually executes the editing process even when the editing content is confirmed is illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. Not. For example, when the editing content is confirmed, the editing process by the printing device 50 is not executed, and the confirmation images (editing images) GE2 and GE22 for confirming the editing content may be created by the editing device 70. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printing system 10 Submitter side terminal 30 Submission data store 50 Printing apparatus 70 Editing apparatus DE, DE1, DE11 Editing content data DN Submission data GE1, GE11 Editing image (non-equivalent decoding image)
GE2, GE22 confirmation image (non-equivalent decoded image)
LT Garbage MN Menu screen PA Submitter PB Operator RE1, RE11 Edit instruction

Claims (6)

A printing system for performing print output based on encrypted submission data,
A printing apparatus including a decoding unit for decoding the submitted data;
An editing device for accepting an editing operation related to the submitted data;
With
The editing device transmits an execution instruction to the effect that the editing image generation processing related to the editing operation is to be executed,
The printing apparatus includes:
In response to the execution command, non-equivalent decoding is performed on an image obtained by decoding the input data using the decoding unit, and is a decoded image that is not equivalent to a printed matter related to the input data. Generating an image as the editing image and transmitting the non-equivalent decoded image to the editing device;
The printing system, wherein the editing apparatus displays the non-equivalent decoded image as the editing image. The printing system according to claim 1,
The editing apparatus receives an editing instruction related to the submitted data using the non-equivalent decoded image, and stores editing content data indicating editing contents based on the editing instruction in association with the submitted data. And printing system. The printing system according to claim 2,
The printing apparatus performs an editing process based on the editing content data on an image obtained by decoding the submission data using the decoding unit, creates a print output image after the editing process, and performs the printing A printing system that prints out an output image. The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The non-equivalent decoded image is a decoded image according to a partial range of the entire image related to the printed matter. The printing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The non-equivalent decoded image is a decoded image having a resolution lower than the resolution of the original image in the submitted data. The printing system according to claim 5, wherein
The printing system, wherein the non-equivalent decoded image is a thumbnail image of the original image.